Hello, I’ve been freelancing for almost thirteen years now, and I feel like I am at another juncture at which I am reassessing my business and contemplating how best to move forward. I periodically find myself here. This is partly driven by external factors, often the need to earn a little more due to changing financial needs. I’m no longer the twenty-something kid I was when I first began freelancing, renting a small room in a dilapidated former convent and cruising around Vancouver on my...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hello, Thank you to all of you who replied to my brief survey on whether or not to create an audio version of Book Indexing: A Step-by-Step Guide. Your responses have been very helpful. So far the response is overwhelmingly, though not quite 100%, against an audio version, and for many of the reasons that I’ve been hesitant so far. Specifically, that it can be difficult to focus and follow along when listening to nonfiction (compared to fiction), and that being able to see the indexing...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hello, Welcome to this last reflection in the mini-series on the basic elements of an index! Over the last three months I’ve discussed entries and arrays, main headings and subheadings, locators, cross-references, and format. Today I look at sorting. Sorting and format are like twins. They both have to do with how the index is arranged. But whereas format is more about the visual aspect of the index—how the index appears on the page—sorting is about how entries and arrays are arranged one...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Hello, Over the last few weeks, I’ve been exploring the components of an array—main headings and subheadings, locators, and cross-references. It’s time to now look at how these are all held together. Formatting the index, by which I mean either run-in or indented format, along with punctuation, has to do with the visual structure of the index. It is what the reader sees on the page. An index is not written like conventional prose, with complete sentences, capitalization, and closing...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Hello, Welcome back to the mini-series on the basic elements of an index! I previously discussed entries and arrays, main headings and subheadings, and locators. Today I am writing about cross-references. Cross-references are a type of locator, but instead of directing readers to the text, cross-references redirect readers to a location within the index. Riffing off the metaphor of an index as a map, I like to think of cross-references as signposts within the index that ensure readers find...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Hello, My original plan for today was to write about indexing Oxford University Press (OUP) titles, of which I recently indexed two. I will still reflect on OUP, but as I was writing this, I realized that my main issue with OUP’s system is its impact on cognitive load. So partway through I’m going to take a little detour to discuss the cognitive impacts of indexing. The OUP System Oxford University Press is unique among publishers, so far as I know, in that it uses a paragraph ID system for...
4 months ago • 7 min read
Hello, Welcome back to this mini-series on the basic elements of an index. I’m currently looking at what makes up an entry, which I described as “what this thing is + where to find it.” In my previous email I discussed main headings and subheadings, which form the first part of that equation. Today, I’m writing about the second part, “where to find it,” also known as locators. Locators are the portion of the entry which tells readers where to find information about the main heading and...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Hello, I hope you are all hanging in there after a bruising start to the second Trump administration. Here in Canada the main concern is over tariffs, which have been averted for the time being. I am worried too, both for myself and for Canada. Will my indexing work for US clients be affected? I don’t think so. I don’t think that an index counts as an “imported good,” but then again, I’m no trade expert. I am concerned, though, that my US clients, including potential clients, may not know...
5 months ago • 3 min read
Hello, I’m excited to do a bit of deconstruction today and look at the building blocks that form an index. But first, I want to welcome new subscribers and give you an update on this newsletter. Welcome! I’ve noticed several new subscribers over the last month. Welcome and thanks for joining! I write about creating excellent indexes for books, along with being a freelance indexer within the publishing industry. If this interests you too, then you are in the right place and I’m glad to have...
5 months ago • 4 min read